The Irish standard., 1887-09-10
MINNEAPOLIS PAUL, SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER TO- 1887


with eagle eye and shouldered arms to
see fair play. 1 Isuppose that the Times
VIII record in supplemental chapter
on "Parnellism and Crime" my con-
fession that there were Irish-American
grizzlies who did not propose 10 halt
even at the frontier. One of them es-
pecially comes back on roy memory-a
gnarled old soldier, who had been
through the hell fire that swallowed the
Irish brigade on the slopes Of Freder-
icksburg, and had on three occasions
shut his shop and kissed his wife and
taken the first train to Buffalo on the
report that Fenian rifles were popping
across the Canadian border. He had a
complexion dark enough to be begrimed
with gunpowder, and when he came to
business his eyes famed into just such
"a dusky light as must have been in
them the day when Meagher's fellows
rushed for the mouth of the confede1-
ate cannon on those awful heights.
"Don't you be fool" says my gun.
powder friend. 81 know them Orange
sons-of-a-blizzard you're going among,
and don't you forget it, There is only
cne way of convincing thenl--fre irons.
Just do your talking. and let a hundred
Of Our boys stand around. We won't
be in the way unless we're wanted" I
am afraid he must have set me down az
person Of degenerate spirit when 1
endeavored to explain to him that there
appeared to me to be no intermediate
course between trusting the Canadians
wholly and invading them at the head
of an army with outspread banners.
'.This won't be out OF order, anyhow"
he said, in loWvoice, drawing nickel
revolver from some mysterious coat
tail pocket and presenting it to me with
air of an indrlgent father extending
loliypop to an offspring. I thought I
was parting with my last title deed to
his esteem when even this shiny toy had
to be gently, but firmly, returned to its
receptacle; but bottomless was the
we'll Of the old soldiers patience. He
sighed and shook his heard more in sor-
row than in anger. "Wai, boss" were
his fast words, II guess the boys will
walk across and fetch back your bones,
anyhow" [ cannot at all conceal that
it was with certain sense Of loneliness
l received the last kindly good f'yes Of
Major Byrne and MIR. j. j. Delaney.
president of the league, in the sleeping
car at the Central depot that evening
and faced the strange and lasit seemed)
hostile world beyond the frontier alone,
Apart from the personal discomforts,
with whose threatenings every telegram
from the Dominion was rumbling, I, of
course, felt that even the honest jogtrot
Canadian who never grudged Ireland
All occasional Home Rule resolution or
even round purse Of dollars at a fam
inc pinch must have shaken his head
if not, indeed his fist-at the idea of
having the eternal Irish scrimmage
transferred to the bosom Of his own
peaceful household and being asked to
take sides against the royally-anointed
head of that household in quarrel
which did not concern him any more
than Dives at his dessert was bound to
worry about the sores Of Lazarus at his
gate. Canada in general l know to be
plus Catholique que lie Pape-more 10y
aist than Mr.. Tracy Turnerelli; part of
it all the world knew to be more paving
stoneful than the Shankill road. I had
not the smallest doubt that even in the
eyes of the average native Canadian
sympathizer with Home Rule must be
a most rash and unwelcome visitor.
Nay, Archbishop Lynch's ill-starred
interview, on the strength of which
MIR. Townsend Trench tore up the
Denning treaty, had led others than
Mr.. Trench to hope that even my own
would receive me nOt-there are so
many we'll meaning Irish Canadians who
think that the only way OF appeasing
the wolfsh bigotry of the Toronto
young Britons is tokeep on feeding them
with sweetmeats, and SO many more
bowling and scraping for Offices and
cards for the balls at Government
house. Upon that score I never my
self suffered one moments apprehen-
sion. The only communication Ihad
received from the Dominion since
landing was a yellow telegram from
Toronto --'sCead mile failthe! -Teefy;'
but that was sufficient I felt as con-
vinced that there spoke irrepressible
Irish Canadian heart as if could hear
every Irisnman who sweats in the OF
tawa lumber yards or around the iron
furnaces of Hamilton shouting:
'.Them's my sentiments; and the more
trouble you're in, the more thoroughly
you can count on us.n Vastly a greater
danger than that Lord Lansdowne's
doings at Luggacurran might not IN
flame the Irish-C Canadian mind enough
was the danger Of their infaming it
overmuch; and confess that often as
mused upon the charms Of Scylla and
Charybdis through which | was fated
to steer, with so many eyes of friends